Rounds

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a b Christgau, Robert (27 January 2004). "Parts of the Elephunk". The Village Voice . Retrieved 16 August 2013. Walton, Matt (2 May 2003). "four tet interview". Collective. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012 . Retrieved 16 November 2014. Beats Per Minute staff (15 February 2010). "The Top 100 Albums of the 2000s". Beats Per Minute . Retrieved 20 November 2014. a b Hermes, Will (August 2003). "Four Tet: Rounds / Prefuse 73: One Word Extinguisher". Spin. 19 (8): 118. ISSN 0886-3032 . Retrieved 16 August 2013.

Though his work was more glitch and IDM-leaning prior (with acclaimed albums like Pause and Rounds) his collaborations with famed jazz musician Steve Reid and DJ residency at London’s now-closed The End in the late 2000s caused him to “think about rhythm and set dynamics differently.” He describes in a Tiga podcast interview that these two events taught him about restraint and taking your time. According to him, sometimes he falls flat on his face and looks like a complete fool, but when done right, he can allow the most explosive moments in a set to have even more impact. Battan, Carrie; Snapes, Laura (15 February 2013). "Four Tet Announces Tenth Anniversary Edition of Rounds". Pitchfork . Retrieved 16 August 2013.

At the beginning of 2003, Four Tet opened for Radiohead on their European tour. A remix of the song "Scatterbrain" from Radiohead's sixth studio album Hail to the Thief was released in November 2003 as a B-side to the single " 2 + 2 = 5" and later included on their 2004 EP COM LAG (2plus2isfive). Furthermore, Hebden was among the people thanked by Radiohead in the booklet accompanying their 2007 In Rainbows "discbox" release. For all that he covets integrity, it is Hebden’s adaptability and anti-snobbery that have charged his winning new era. In this respect, he and Fred Again are peas in a pod. They met two years ago, after some badgering from the younger producer. Hebden eventually agreed to meet for dinner. “I thought he was trying to make music in a very similar area to me and we’d be getting in each other’s way,” Hebden says with a laugh. When they finally hung out, “the music seemed almost irrelevant. I thought: ‘Oh my God, we’re going to be great friends.’ That’s the motivation.” On 29 August 2019, Hebden had released a collection of three brand new songs as part of an EP called Anna Painting. The project was made in collaboration with painter Anna Liber Lewis, and features artwork by Liber Lewis in the release. Rounds depicts the sort of future where white walls with moving paintings of waterfalls pass for an organic surrounding. It’s a simple and elegant reminder of the beauty of the world, before tarnished by man. Kieran chops up live drums, sampled mandolin, and alien noises that repaint a much more alive sound of far East of the world and not-so-far East of Chicago. Not to sound pompous, but it’s a revolution. He begins with a ambient hum, adds in offbeat fills, breaks in the beat, glosses with some keyboard variations, and that’s just the beginning. We can pause and see just how every little thing comes in and how it links into the greater chain of the song. There is something both very hip-hop and Eastern about it all, as it has that simple driving beat but does it with such grace and purity. Four Tet’s legal team argued against any inconsistency in their case. Deputy Judge Treacy issued a lengthy response below, which Music Week is publishing in full for context:

However, Deputy Judge Treacy allowed Four Tet’s legal team to pursue their case for breach of contract over the removal of albums from DSPs to be added to the existing claim, rather than refuse permission on a summary basis. In May 2019, Hebden played two shows at London's Alexandra Palace, his largest shows to date. The performance was filmed as part of the music video for Teenage Birdsong. [26] A live recording of the two shows was released on 29 July 2019 under his "4TLR" moniker. [27]Goble, Corban (7 May 2015). "Four Tet Announces New Album Morning/Evening". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015 . Retrieved 7 May 2015. At the centre, where the mixing desk might normally be found, is Hebden, his Anglepoise lamp and his jumble of kit. Only about 100 people can actually see him, because although Hebden is now officially a superstar DJ, slaying dancefloors at Coachella last month, topping bills in proper clubs and headlining nights at festivals, he eschews elevation where he can. Hebden has arrived at a particularly sweet spot. Tech has set Four Tet free. Tonight’s gig is very 'Insta-ready' Krol, Charlotte (9 August 2021). "Four Tet launches legal action against Domino over streaming dispute". NME . Retrieved 22 November 2021. Crucially, the Spotify aesthetic that now dominates listening chimes well with Hebden’s own. There has been widespread hand-wringing that the gatekeeping power of Spotify playlists now makes for homogenised, non-offensive musical blandness, but Four Tet’s blithe excursions, while chiming with that zeitgeist, are so much more than chillout wallpaper.

Blashill, Pat (15 May 2003). "Four Tet: Rounds". Rolling Stone. p.134. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009 . Retrieved 24 July 2019. Hebden released the seventh Four Tet album, Beautiful Rewind, in October 2013, [19] and his eighth album, Morning/Evening in July 2015. [20] In October 2015, Hebden released a remix of Eric Prydz's "Opus" under his Four Tet pseudonym. [21] See The Full List Of 60th GRAMMY Nominees | GRAMMY.com". 28 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 November 2017 . Retrieved 19 May 2020.Rounds produced two singles and one EP. Critics praised its unique fusion of electronic and organic styles, and Metacritic lists it as the fourth best-reviewed album of 2003. Several publications included Rounds on "best albums of the decade" lists. In May 2013, on the tenth anniversary of its release, Domino reissued Rounds with a bonus disc including a 2004 live performance. Music Feature – Four Tet and the London Underground". Totally Dublin. 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011 . Retrieved 23 November 2010.

Somewhere in the unfurling mix are the heady, lustrous arpeggiating strings of Two Thousand and Seventeen off New Energy. But such is the dazzle of the surround-sound and the kaleidoscopic ripples of light, it’s hard to tell whether Hebden at the top of his game plays any of the new album he hints he might soon release.In March and April 2005, Four Tet performed two shows of improvisational music, in collaboration with jazz drummer Steve Reid, in Paris and London. He also appears on Steve Reid Ensemble 2005 album Spirit Walk. This collaboration was extended into a series of international tours, and the release of two albums, The Exchange Session Vol. 1 and The Exchange Session Vol. 2 over the course of 2005 and 2006. [ citation needed] Many may call this too boring or simple to be revered so highly, but they are entirely missing the point. You might disagree with me here, but is there anything more difficult than making an alien sound gather enough ground to merge into another to form the basis of a beat which will then mangle with another layer soon enough? What so many artists in the IDM genre have done, reminds me of how sometimes we forget how to pronounce a “fancy” word and so kind cough or murmur to pass it off. In the same way, I have a feeling that IDM artists truly aren’t capable of making that transition smooth and so have layer upon layer fill up the space, so we just hear this “cough” while the fancy word is being spoken. Take any of the thin layers of high caliber acts like M83 or low caliber acts like Richard Devine and see if these single layers could live on their own. It’s a safety blanket that even Four Tet had mildly used on his previous release but no more. Pitchfork staff (31 December 2003). "Top 50 Albums of 2003". Pitchfork. p.4 . Retrieved 17 November 2014.